Mendocino Co. finances in black, with backlog of maintenance

The county's financial picture is optimistic at the mid-year mark, according to officials, but the question of how to pay for much-needed maintenance at county buildings came up when the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday heard a mid-year budget report.

The county plans to end its fiscal year in June with a nearly $800,000 balance and a $4.5 million general reserve in the county's budget, according to Chief Deputy CEO Kyle Knopp. He cautioned that the county's General Services Agency has a nearly $13.2 million backlog of needed maintenance at county facilities, including $3.9 million in roof replacements.

The board unanimously approved paying $769,204 against the county's Teeter Plan debt after briefly discussing the idea of reducing that payment to replace a malfunctioning control panel at Juvenile Hall that is estimated to cost up to $100,000, and was deemed a priority among several other costly maintenance projects that have been put on hold.

"The control panel is a high priority, and if you want $100,000 to not go to Teeter, but to the control panel, that's fine," said county CEO Carmel Angelo, "but I recommend coming back in two weeks to decide where to take that money from."

The central security control panel operates the electronic opening and closing of the doors to enter and exit Juvenile Hall, according to a report prepared for the board. The 12-year-old panel "has been malfunctioning at an unusually high level," prompting about 80 calls to county maintenance staff at the General Services Agency in recent months, and needs to be replaced.

The Teeter Plan, instituted locally in 1993, is a state-approved system for collecting and distributing property tax even though a certain number of property owners are in default on their taxes.

Under the Teeter Plan, the county pays districts and schools that get a portion of the county's property taxes upfront, so that delinquent taxes don't impact them. As the administrator of the plan, the county keeps penalty fees and interest applied to delinquent accounts when the taxes are collected.

The county paid $5.5 million from its general fund in 1993 to opt into the Teeter Plan at the time, and planned to pay it back, but underestimated the payments versus the amounts of delinquent taxes in subsequent years until the debt rose to more than $10 million -- fueled in part by economic downturn.

The county began paying back the whole amount of delinquent taxes every year in the 2009-10 fiscal year, and making annual payments of just under $770,000 to pay down the debt. Chief Deputy CEO Kyle Knopp recommended making that payment as planned, but board members expressed willingness to forego the whole amount to cover the cost of the control panel.

Third District Supervisor John Pinches wanted to include the change with the Tuesday budget vote, saying, "This is what these mid-year budget reports are for."

He added that the board would not have been "taking it from another budget," but would be reducing the amount of the projected $736,877 year-end balance for 2012-13 to cover the cost.

"I think we need a little more formality," said board chairman 5th District Supervisor Dan Hamburg, adding that he anticipates that the board will approve the funding.

The board opted to take up the question of how to pay for the control panel at its next meeting in two weeks, when it will also take on the development of a five-year capital improvement plan.

Tiffany Revelle can be reached at udjtr@ukiahdj.com, on Twitter @TiffanyRevelle or at 468-3523.